Nitro Voodoo - The History

In August 2008, Chris Matheson travelled to America to view a bike known as the "Hulk". This monster carried Jimmy Brantley to a AMA/Prostar Top Fuel Championship in 2005.

The bike was built by Larry “Spiderman” McBride, Steve McBride and Brantley and had run 5.8 seconds at 237 mph (383.94 kph), which at the time was the quickest in the world. Only in recent times has this been beaten by the legendary McBride himself, running a 5.611 ET at 249.49 mph (401.41 kph).

"Meeting Larry & Steve at the Indianapolis Raceway was an awesome experience and valuable time was spent at their workshop in Newport News, Virginia," said Matheson. Larry & Steve ran us through setups, systems and the overall package, which is where the Cycle Specialist team excel, being at the cutting edge of Top Fuel Drag Racing for some 30 years, and winning the American series a record 18 times.

"The deal was concluded and we returned to Australia to set in train the freight process. By September 2008, it was time to return to the States, where, again we spent beneficial time with the “Spiderman” team, absorbing a wealth of knowledge."

Over watchful eyes of the “Spiderman”, the bike was then secured, packed, ensuring its safety for the voyage to the bikes new home on Aussie shores.

As soon as the bike landed safely in Australia, it was time for the team to go to task to learn the fundamentals of the bike and its idiosyncrasies. Test days were held at their home track at Willowbank, where team owner/rider, Chris Matheson licensed with solid 6 second passes.

It was also time to give the bike a new image for the Australian Championship Series, whilst heralding the beginning of a new era for the bike.

"After numerous brainstorming sessions, I decided to name the bike “Nitro Voodoo”. A new paint scheme, the “Nitro Voodoo” logo, team crew shirts etc were implemented prior to the commencement of the opening round of the 2009/2010 Championship," said Matheson.

The bike made its debut in the new colours at the Gold Coast Motorcycle Expo in March 2009, where "Nitro Voodoo" drew huge crowds over the 3 day Expo. This raised much interest by the general public and exhibitors alike.

The "Nitro Voodoo" machine has evolved since its initial inception, when arriving in Australia, including numerous performance upgrades and improved aerodynamics.

The machine has re-written history in the Southern Hemisphere, winning multiple Australian Championships, numerous Australian Track Records and to this day is still the quickest and fastest Top Fuel Motorcycle in the Southern Hemisphere, recording 6.04 seconds at 241.8 mph (389kph).